JIM JARMUSCH (Writer/Director), one of the leading American filmakers of his generation, was born in Akron, Ohio. His feature film career began with PERMANENT VACATION (1980), which won the Joseph von Sternberg Prize (Mannheim) and the International Critics Prize (Figueira da Foz, Portugal, 1982)
This was followed by STRANGER THAN PARADISE (1984), a landmark film which received the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was voted Best Picture of the Year in the United States by the National Society of Film Critics in 1984; it was also named Best Foreign Film in Japan in 1985.
Jarmusch's next film, DOWN BY LAW (1986), won prizes for Best Foreign Film in Norway, Denmark and Israel; the film's star, Roberto Benigni, was named Best Actor in Denmark and Italy.
MYSTERY TRAIN (1989) was awarded the Prize of Highest Artistic Acheivement at Cannes.
NIGHT ON EARTH (1991) won the Grand Award for Best Feature Film at the Houston International Film Festival (1992) and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography (1993).
Jarmusch is also directing a continuing series of short films all entitled COFFEE AND CIGARETTES: the first, simply COFFEE AND CIGARETTES (1986), stars Steven Wright and Roberto Benigni; the second, subtitled MEMPHIS VERSION (1993), stars Steve Buscemi, Cinque Lee and Joie Lee;
the third, SOMEWHERE IN CALIFORNIA (1993), is with Iggy Pop and Tom Waits. It received a Golden Palm at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.
DEAD MAN received its world premiere at Cannes in 1995.